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Wales (United Kingdom)

Cymru

by K. J. Seefried III, 1-AUG-1995

Ddraig Goch (Red Dragon)
Dewisant (Saint David's Cross)

Ddraig Goch (Red Dragon)

The Ddraig Goch (red dragon) flag is the national flag of Wales, and has been officially recognised as such since the 1950s. By the way, the white-over-green field is the livery colours of the Tudors, the Welsh dynasty that once sat on the English throne.

Roy Stilling, 27-NOV-1995

Dewisant (Saint David's Cross)

by Roy Stilling, 21-NOV-1995

The gold cross on black of St. David has, as far as I know, never had an official status in Wales. The nearest to it was that it was used by Anglican churches in Wales before disestablishment in 1921. I have never seen it flying - the nearest was a banner of the arms of the diocese of St. David's which flew from my college on St. David's day. The only written reference for the gold-and-black flag I have seen is in the 1961 edition of H. Gresham Carr's Flags of the World, but I cannot give chapter and verse...

Roy Stilling, 21-NOV-1995

According to H. Gresham Carr's 1961 book, Flags of the World, a black cross on gold was used by Welsh Anglican churches until 1954. "[It] is said to have been taken from the arms of the manors of Llawhaden and Pebidiog (anciently known as Dewisland [NB: Dewi Sant is the Welsh for St David]), of which the early bishops of St. David's were barons" (p66). This, of course, is the reverse of the gold cross on black flag previously mentioned.

However, the arms of the bishopric of St. David's are a gold cross on black, like the flag mentioned, but with four outline black cinquefoils in the arms of the cross. I spent three years in Wales at university and I too never saw a cruciform flag being flown instead of the Red Dragon. However, on St. David's Day (1st March), my college - St David's University College, Lampeter (Coleg Prifysgol Dewi Sant, Llanbedr Pont Steffan for any Welsh-speakers on the list) - flew a banner of the arms of St. David's.

Roy Stilling, 3-SEP-1996